Mehmet Zeki Celik was the talk of the town this week as far as Turks abroad were concerned. It is still early days but it looks like Lille may just have found themselves a bargain with the 21-year-old right-back.
Cenk Tosun
The beast from the east kicked off his Premier League campaign with an assist for the new kid on the block, Richarlison. The Toffees looked in cruise control after taking the lead. It was a shame Jagielka got himself sent off after making a rare mistake. Everton looked like they would have been comfortable winners had they not gone down to 10 men. Tosun held up play well and made intelligently runs but the red card incident forced a more conservative approach.
Lovely finish from Richarlison, uses the defender to disguise his shot to curl into the goal.#WOLEVE pic.twitter.com/OUeHW2LdWt
— Gilles (@GrimandiTweets) August 11, 2018
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Mehmet Zeki Çelik
I’m starting to think the 1. Lig may actually have a higher caliber of young Turkish players than the Super Lig. The latest wonderkid to leave the second-tier and slot straight into a top-five league is Mehmet Zeki Celik. Completely unheard of just a few months ago, the former Istanbulspor right-back has been turning heads in France.
Celik created three goalscoring chances, had an 84 percent pass accuracy and didn’t neglect his defensive duties either, making important tackles, interceptions and four clearances.
He also provided a fine assist, showcasing his wonderful crossing ability. Interestingly enough the goal was near identical to the one he setup in the pre-season friendly against Leicester City. Lebo Mothiba was the scorer against the Foxes and found the back of the net again.
Lebo Mothiba was on the scoresheet in preseason again last night as he scored this goal for Lille against Leicester City. ??⚽️ pic.twitter.com/DYjEf5Iag4
— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) August 5, 2018
Celik ended up with an assist on his league debut and was named in the L’equipe team of the week.
Mesut Ozil
The Arsenal playmaker has not had the best of summers. After being scapegoated for Germany crashing out of the World Cup in the group stage he was subjected to racism and discrimination before quitting international football. His first league game ended in disappointment as the Gunners lost 2-0 to reigning champions Manchester City at the Emirates. To be fair, Ozil did actually work hard and track back but new manager Unai Emery will need some time to get his team to settle.
Ilkay Gundogan
Batman? Zorro? no it’s Gundogan! the mask-wearing City star was uncharacteristically sloppy, being dispossessed three times. His passing was better and he did work hard. The midfielder did not look sharp and could do with working on his fitness. But that should not take away from the fact he helped his side keep a clean sheet and beat Arsenal away from home. No walk in the park!
